1 Samuel 11

¹²But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king.

¹³He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land,

³⁴Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

⁸So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the Lord at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.

²⁸“We can plainly see that the Lord has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you

³²You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.

²⁶David asked the men who were standing with him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

¹⁴“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.

¹⁴Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”

⁶Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

³¹Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,

²¹Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.

²⁶Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.

⁴When the angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

²So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.

⁴So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.

³⁴Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.

²Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

¹⁹So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.

¹Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.

¹⁷Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.

¹This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,

²³When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”

⁷¹from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

¹⁰When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.

³⁴So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.

¹⁰The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the Lord delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.

¹³So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

²⁵And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

⁶and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

²⁹When he reached his house, he picked up a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.

¹Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the Lord at Mizpah.

¹⁰And the dread of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

⁵The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the Lord?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the Lord at Mizpah would surely be put to death.

⁶And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel.

⁵As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.

¹⁴and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the Lord had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there.

⁴When Judah attacked, the Lord delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.

⁵And there they found Adoni-bezek and fought against him, striking down the Canaanites and Perizzites.

⁹And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.

¹²Jehoshaphat grew stronger and stronger, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah

¹³and kept vast supplies in the cities of Judah. He also had warriors in Jerusalem who were mighty men of valor.

¹⁵Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin. And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.

⁴So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

²The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.

²But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you on one condition, that I may put out everyone’s right eye and bring reproach upon all Israel.”

³“Hold off for seven days,” replied the elders of Jabesh, “and let us send messengers throughout Israel. If there is no one to save us, we will surrender to you.”

¹⁶And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.

¹⁴And Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

²⁴At morning watch, however, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion.

⁷Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.

²But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you on one condition, that I may put out everyone’s right eye and bring reproach upon all Israel.”

²⁷But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.

²⁷And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”

⁸Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.

²²And David replied, “Sons of Zeruiah, what have I to do with you, that you should be my adversaries today? Should any man be put to death in Israel today? Am I not indeed aware that today I am king over Israel?”

¹³But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the Lord’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

⁵He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”

⁴⁵But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

³⁰That day the Lord saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.

⁴You are my King, O God, who ordains victories for Jacob.

⁵Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.

⁸And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”

¹⁶Every year he would go on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all these places.

³⁸All these men of war, arrayed for battle, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest of the Israelites were of one mind to make David king.

³⁹They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them.

²⁴Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.

³When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.

⁸And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”

¹⁷After this, Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah

²¹The next day they offered sacrifices and presented burnt offerings to the Lord: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

²²That day they ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord. Then, for a second time, they designated David’s son Solomon as king, anointing him before the Lord as ruler, and Zadok as the priest.

¹³Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the Lord has placed a king over you.

¹⁴If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and if you do not rebel against the command of the Lord, and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, then all will be well.

¹⁰Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

¹¹So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.

⁵Then he sent out some young men of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.